On May 22, 2024, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Vice President DING Chibiao visited the Qingyuan Forest Ecosystem National Field Scientific Observation and Research Station, also known as CAS Qingyuan Forest Station. During the visit, DING Chibiao and his delegation explored various aspects of the station’s work and development.

The delegation first toured the station’s information center and multi-functional data center. They learned about the achievements in informatization construction, which were based on the CAS Internet Demonstration Project. HE Honglin, a researcher and director of the China Ecosystem Research Network (CERN), presented a report on the CERN’s work and development. Director of the Institute of Applied Ecology (IAE) and Academician ZHU Jiajun gave a talk on the construction and innovative development of modern field stations. The delegation engaged in discussions with station directors and key scientific researchers from the institute’s field stations.

Site Visits:

DING Chibiao and his delegation explored various areas within the Qingyuan Forest Station, including the Qingyuan ‘Ker’ monitoring tower network platform, the forest watershed hydrological observation platform, secondary forest ecosystem experimental plots, and special observation plots (such as landslide and forest window). They also visited the forest understory economic planting demonstration area.

Affirmation and Forward-Looking Goals:

DING Chibiao emphasized that CERN field stations are crucial national infrastructure. Future planning should align with the country’s major needs, and attention should be given to scientific data standards and databases of CERN field stations.

DING Chibiao praised Qingyuan Forest Station’s long-term observation research, especially its alignment with national goals of “carbon neutrality” and “ecological civilization construction.” He proposed further utilization of information technology, including big data and artificial intelligence, to establish a Northeast Forest Carbon Sink Big Science Data Center and a Climate Smart Forest Monitoring and Management Platform.

Academician YU Haibin at CAS Shenyang Branch, Academician YU Guirui at the Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research of CAS participated in the visit.